Porcini Mushroom

Veal cheeks make the most delicate braise. Using a combination of water and wine for the braising liquid allows the sweet, subtle taste of the veal to really shine through. As a side, you need nothing more than the spring’s first ramps and some gorgeous porcini, kissed by the grill. Some years, it just so happens that the ramp season runs long, or perhaps the porcini season starts early, or both. When the two magically coincide, some amazing things happen. Using foil as insulation for the delicate ramp tops gives the vegetables a simple char on the grill. The veal needs time to become fork-tender, a few hours in all, so plan accordingly.

I have to say that this is one of my all-time favorite salads, my variation of an Alice Waters recipe I came across years ago, and I’ve always loved the simplicity and the flavor. Shave the mushrooms immediately prior to serving, so that they release their aromas. It’s so intoxicating that you’d think they were pheromones. This salad is actually pretty sexy.

This risotto is a special springtime treat, not only because of the delicate flavor of the ramps but also because the porcini is allowed to really be the star. I treat it like a fine truffle, shaving it with a mandoline in a shower over each bowl. The heat of the risotto softens the mushrooms ever so slightly, and the shavings add texture and a wonderful fragrance.

This hearty soup showcases the very best of fall—sweet kabocha squash and earthy porcini mushrooms—simmered together in a rich Parmesan broth. Using the Parmesan broth as a base adds indescribable depth, and as they simmer, the mushrooms perfume the broth and become tender and silky. I add just enough cream to give the soup body while allowing the flavors to shine through. If you can’t find kabocha squash in your market, feel free to use other types of hard-skinned winter squash, such as butternut, or even sugar pumpkin.

Dried porcini are expensive, but even a small handful added to a soup will bring with it a wave of smoky, almost beefy notes. A general instruction with parsnip soup is to prevent the vegetables coloring, presumably to keep the soup pale, but I suggest the opposite. You want the parsnips to cook to a gentle golden color before you add the stock; that way the soup will have a deeper flavor and a color reminiscent of heather honey.

These are the onions to have alongside a few slices of rare roast beef. The marriage of flavors is superb. If they are to be truly tender and silky soft, it is crucial to take them as far as you dare in the pre-cooking stage, before you scoop out the center and stuff them. They need to be boiled for a good half an hour, depending, of course, on their size. Any layers that are not supple and easy to squash between your finger and thumb should be discarded. There is no reason why these onions with their mushroomy, creamy filling couldn’t be served as a main dish. You would need two each, I think, and maybe some noodles, wide ones such as pappardelle, on the side, tossed in a little melted butter and black pepper.

The ingredients in this simple vegetable stew are made to order for the long, slow heat of the communal oven or the slow cooker. Flavors meld, juices blend together, and the whole thing is a fragrant, pleasurable afternoon’s work.

It’s delicious. It’s typical of the kind of peasant soup you might find in a mountainous region where barley grows plentifully, and mushrooms are to be had in season. And best of all, it’s a put-the-stuff-in-the-pot-and-walkaway-from-it no-brainer.

For most of us, the mention of lasagna conjures up mouthwatering images of rich tomato sauce layered with rich cheeses and thin noodles. But a type of lasagna can also be made using polenta rather than pasta. In this polenta lasagna, the old familiar formula appears, but the packaging (polenta instead of lasagna noodles) is new. I recommend making the tomato sauce a day ahead of time, and possibly having two slow cookers on hand so that you can pour the polenta quickly from one into the other.

You’ll love making and serving this earthy medley of colors, textures, and flavors on a rainy spring evening.

This easy pasta dish is fancy enough to serve to company, but simple enough for weekday dining. If you like spicy food, double the red pepper flakes (the amount given here is considered mildly to medium spicy). Or you can just leave them out.

The Marsala and fennel seeds give this recipe the familiar flavor of the classic dish, while the red pepper flakes add a bit of a kick. If you are a fennel fan, double the amount given here. You can grind fennel seeds in a mortar or purchase the spice already ground. Feel free to use any type of fresh or dried mushrooms. Cut dried mushrooms into thin pieces to be certain they will hydrate enough. To presoften particularly thick dried mushrooms, soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes before draining, chopping, and adding to the pot.

When I was working in Tuscany during porcini season I always wanted to go foraging for mushrooms, but the Italians are so secretive about where they find their prized porcini that I could never convince anyone to take me with them. So, while I never got to go hunting for fresh porcini, I did learn how to use dried ones to make this gorgeous sauce. If you’ve never used them before, dried porcini are a fantastic way to add a huge bump of mushroomy goodness to almost anything. And, because you have to soak them first, you get the added benefit of the fastest, most flavorful vegetarian stock ever; one that you can then add to your sauce to give it an even richer, earthier boost of flavor—just like I do here.

I am a huge fan of eggs—and I especially LOOOOOVE them when they’re served at a meal other than breakfast (though I love them for breakfast too!). There’s something elegant about putting an egg on a salad—and this particular salad combines the earthy meatiness of porcini mushrooms and the runny yolk of an egg, a combo that I think makes this a super-sexy appetizer or a lovely lunch.

I think Worcestershire has incredible potential. The regular store-bought sauce has great flavor but is too thin and a little light on the palate. So what I’ve done is fortify the bottled stuff with more of the ingredients typically found in Worcestershire sauce to create a thicker, richer version.

Slow-Roasted Boneless Short Ribs give new life to the idea of leftovers. Here, they’re transformed into the perfect Sunday supper of ribbon pasta with succulent meat sauce. Once you prepare the short ribs, this dish takes relatively little time to make, yet your guests will be seduced by this sugo. The sauce will make more than you need, which you’ll thank me for later. Store the remaining sugo in a covered container in the fridge or freezer. There is nothing worse than gloppy, oversauced pasta. Proportion is important; the pasta should be lightly coated in sauce, not drowning.

With tortellini in the freezer and dried mushrooms and a carton of broth in your pantry, you can throw together this savory, filling soup in only half an hour.

The secret to the intense mushroom flavor in this recipe is that not only are mushrooms themselves part of the mix, but the risotto is cooked with mushroom-flavored broth. In order to use dried porcini mushrooms—or any dried mushrooms for that matter—you have to reconstitute them by allowing them to sit in hot water for a few minutes, absorbing that water and plumping up. Then the mushrooms are ready to cook with, and you have all this flavorful liquid as a by-product. By all means, take advantage of it: Here, it works as a flavor booster to the chicken stock; but you can also use it as the base of a wonderful soup or sauce.